Tuesday, May 31, 2016

There are times when I just want to PLAY with color and a phrase. I found the phrase attached to this illustration in a blog written by Gail Lynne Goodwin. If you did not know, aspen trees share common roots...when one is in trouble, the strength comes from those around...

I actually played with ink and sharpie on this fun little stand of aspen.

Dreams are like Acorns...

17"x15"

acrylic and ink

Available at Luna's Mandala

$80

Continuing with my illustration type color and phrase I painted these fun acorns with acrylic; stamping the background a bit with design and adding the canvas and words to complete my vision of this fun little piece. Also under glass with the black wood frame.

The phrase comes from the acornstash.com. It reminds us just how important our dreams are!

I encourage you to veer from your regular way of working from time to time. It is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. From these fun projects I did for Luna's Mandala in Conifer were a great jumping off point for paintings and projects to come! I've long loved adding words in the body of my work to add to the impact it may have on the viewer...so I now have new ideas for other things! Let yourself stretch and play from time to time! You'll be glad you did!

IF you are interested in either of these pieces but don't live near by, just contact me and if they are still available I'll be glad to get it to you!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Jake was the pup friend of a collector's father. Recently he lost Jake, so the commissioned me to paint him as a remembrance for their father. I am always honored to do these portraits, I love to paint animals! Go figure as we do not own a pet...I guess this is my way to hug all these fun animals! To see more of my portraits click HERE to visit the portfolio on my website from my 101 Pet Portraits in 101 days.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

"Grand Tetons" are a range of mountains found in Grand Teton National
Park in Wyoming. This range consists of a few mountain peaks, but as
this is a summit project I zoomed in on the two most prominent peaks.
The highest peak/summit is Grand Teton which rises to about 13,770
feet. To the left is Middle Teton, rising to 12,804 feet. The space
between these two is called the lower saddle and off to the right you
can see a bit of Mount Owen at 12,928 feet. "Grand Tetons" is oil on
6"x6" panel and comes ready to frame (the suggestion frame you see here
is not included, but shows you how fun they look framed. This is a
floater frame you can find at pictureframes.com) or sit on an easel.

"Grand Tetons" was actually the summit that my friend Jackie Johnson requested to see for my mountain summits project...HOWEVER, life has been so busy, I latched on to a different peak when I was doing my research and just painted it instead, NOT EVEN NOTICING it wasn't the Tetons like we know them! WOW! I decided to add it to the collection anyway because it was named after an artist and I kind of was attracted to it in the first place, so HERE is "Mt. Moran"

"Mt. Moran" is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western
Wyoming that rises some 12,605 feet. This mountain was named for Thomas
Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran
dominates the northern section of the Teton Range rising 6,000 feet
above Jackson Lake."Mt. Moran" is painted in oil on panel and comes
ready to frame as shown in a frame suggestion (a floater frame I get
from pictureframes.com) or can sit on a shelf or easel.

Friday, May 20, 2016

I have a special love for this painting as it went through quite a few birth pangs in it's process. As I have said before to new artists and as a reminder to seasoned artists that we should never let fear or attachment to a painting stop us from wiping it clean if necessary to get to a desired result. It is a common issue with beginning artists for sure, and some seasoned ones as well to keep working a painting practically to death because we may not want to start over, or give up on a painting we have gotten attached to. The best advice I can give is to just wipe off and start again, or sand it down if it is dry, or even paint over it or tear it up! See the value in lessons learned in a painting that is not going as you would have wanted...I have found that at times when I have completely sanded down a completed painting that wasn't making me happy that there were hidden gems in the bits left behind...which increased my creative thought and the end result from these experiences is often a painting I LOVE!

I began by laying in a base background and paper for this painting as you can see below.

TIP: **If you ever get stumped as to a color scheme a favorite method for me is to look at magazines until I find a photo of anything that has a color scheme that appeals to me...you can also find it in LIFE...but the photos are a fun way to immediately filter out all the middle colors that may make a color scheme a little too much.

I stamped a bit on this beginning phase to get a little implied texture. I don't worry at this stage if the stamps are covered over...it is an inspirational tool I use to get my creative juices flowing... Next was to add my aspen. I use acid free paper to define this step. It isn't necessary, but a good way for me to visualize before committing to a composition as I can move the papers around until I have a pleasing end result for composition.

It is after this stage that I began to lay in my lines and such on the trees...I was fine there, but when I started with the foliage I changed my mind 3 times which meant I wiped a good bit off and started over! This is frustrating at times, but the end result is fun as some of the paint stayed behind making a FUN bit of this or that for the final result! I used more painterly strokes for the trees, I stamped the leaves with my hexagon stencil and then defined them in areas with charcoal. THIS step is very exciting to me...to play with lots of different media to affect the end result I was looking for. Below you can see a little detail in my process. I learned in my painful birth pains on this one that less was more in the leaves...BELIEVE me I had much more in a couple different methods and I was not happy with it!

I settled on the soft colors within the leaves that highlights the beginning of spring...and if you look closely you can see the definition I added with line in some areas. The end result was a fun and soft aspen stand that made me quite happy I wiped this painting until I reached the goal I had in mind! I then stained the sides of my cradle to compliment the piece and it was finished! A long birthing process for this painting, but well worth it when I can smile at the end result!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

After many years as a mixed media artist I have compiled a list of my favorite glues and adhesives that I use in my work in various ways. It takes an artist many years to find time tested products that work in various situations, and I'm glad to share what I have learned! My list of my top 9 products and how I use them...

#1 - LOCTITE SUPER GLUE (GEL) -

I have found this product to be the best when I am making my magnets with rock and metal. I used the Loctite to set the beads. I've used regular super glue with poor results, but THIS product is my favorite for these applications...and it is also excellent for gluing broken ceramics and glass items as well. I like the GEL best as it doesn't run all over the place sticking your fingers together in the process. It stays put! It usually takes about 30 seconds to set, so that is also a plus!

#2 - LOCTITE EPOXY. This is a two part epoxy that I've found works great for setting the metal on the rocks above. Anything you need a stronger bond this will work excellently for. It dries clear as does the Loctite gel.

#3 - SCOTCH SUPER 77 SPRAY ADHESIVE. I love this product for spraying paper that needs a smooth and strong application. This has been used for projects where I want to apply logos or even full sheets of paper on things like poster board, smooth wood and these types of projects. WHICH leads to...

#4 - KRYLON EASY TAC REPOSITIONABLE ADHESIVE. This product is used when you want to be able to lift a paper several times. I would use this when working with stencils that need a temporary fit, or if you are working and need to test out a position for your image to be glued. This works for light weight papers.

#5 - ACRYLIC PAINT AS AN ADHESIVE. I don't know if you are aware that paint is also a good adhesive. I've even used oil paint as an adhesive as well. I used this method when I set my phrase in one of my slice paintings where I added words. It would work for anything you are painting. You have to set the object when it is still wet.

The phrase was added in wet paint.

#6 - YES PASTE/GLUE. This is my newest favorite adhesive. I use it when I want to add large items for a good hold. I use this when making my affirmation sticks. I wrap the stick and then use the YES paste (which dries clear) as a way to hold the stick to the wood. It would also work great for adding larger ephemera to a surface when working in mixed media. I've also used it when attaching things to canvas as well as my wood surfaces. So far it has held beautifully!

#7 - GORILLA WOOD GLUE. I make my own cradles for many of my paintings. I use Gorilla glue to glue my wood strips to the MDF board. It holds great! Be careful to wipe excess as it does change color after a few weeks.

#8 - GOLDEN SOFT GEL (MATTE). This is by far my favorite adhesive when I am working in mixed media. I use it for collage on wood, canvas and paper. It is acid free and dries clear. The matte finish for me is a favorite as it takes paint and other things on top beautifully!

#9 - E6000. This is a great all purpose glue that dries clear and will work on so many different applications! It is strong, but takes a little while to dry. I stopped using it a ton for certain projects as I noticed when I glued clay tiles I'd made to a chair, they came off after being subjected to very cold temperatures for years. I believe it is still a good product and would work for heavier objects in mixed media, ie for metals on wood and that sort of thing...but, lately I've defaulted to my YES paste. However, it hasn't been in my list for as long, so I can only speak to its effectiveness after a few months. E6000 has a bit of a smell, so if you are sensitive to that you might want to use YES.

SO, that is my list of my favorites that I spent years building. I hope this helps in your projects! Let me know if your experiences have been different, that is always helpful!

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

I just added 7 new bitty canvas gift baskets to my ETSY shop today. These are fun little baskets that are the perfect size for so many things...like paper clips, small soaps or gifts, jewelry, perfect for gifts or for your organization in any room that fits your fancy! Visit my ETSY shop and find your favorite! SaundraLaneonEtsy FUN DOINS!

Monday, May 2, 2016

you can find this frame at pictureframes.com in their floater frame section

"Mt. Hood" was Terri Johnson's
pick for the give away mountain summit. Mount Hood, called Wy'east by
the Multnomah tribe, is a potentially active stratovolcano in the
Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. I like to show a frame
suggestion with these fun paintings...my favorite is the floater frame.
Frames are not included, but it is fun to see how they could look all
framed up! Congratulations Terri for entering! I'll be sending it off
to her as soon as it dries! Stay tuned for the next give away
opportunity! All you have to do to enter the next give away is sign up
for my website newsletter! saundralane.com

I love to experiment with different materials and subject matter. This mountain/volcano was one where I applied modeling paste in the summit itself. The experiment was to see how it might work using oils. I usually do this when painting these mountains in acrylic. I lay in the paste and then do a wash in a darker color, laying in the white mixture on top. The end result is pretty striking. I noticed in oil I can do the same thing, but the wait time for the wash to dry is longer as it is oil, and I haven't found the same striking end result. Most probably because I paint heavier in oils...hmmm...I will probably play with it some more. You can see the texture in life more than in a photo...that may still make it worth it.